What do you believe is worth fighting for?

There is a time shift that occurs post trauma. One feels as though they no longer completely belong to the world and yet they are here. Reality shifts, perspectives broaden. Magic happens. This is where I have been since my last post. I thought my blogs were over. It stretched through the trauma and I came out on the other end, and that people no longer wanted or needed to hear of my inner workings. But, in the months that have passed people have reached out asking why I have stopped writing, what is happening, and urging me to continue.

It wasn’t until this last week when I lost myself in The Book of Joy(A collaborative masterpiece by two of this planet’s most prominent spiritual leaders: Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama) that I realized that events shape us. However, we hold the ultimate power. We can either see any given moment as life ruining or empowering. We can see the negative and rip at it, or we can take a step back and explore alternate perspectives. 

I learned this from the Dalai Lama and how he recounted all of his hardships. He was removed from his parents at the age of 2, put into a gilded cage for the earlier part of his life, then fled for his life from Tibet due to an ensuing genocide… He could have become embittered by his lot in life, but on the contrary, he shares only love. He sees life as a blessing and that it is our responsibility as human beings to share with each other the most precious of gifts: compassion, love, and understanding for and of each other.  It is in the pause, not the reaction, that we gather our wits, align our mind, body, and soul, and learn to perceive the world accordingly. 

Life does not suck! Evil is not rampant. People are innately good. These are truths that I hold dear, these are the convictions I live by and this is why I will continue to blog! However, the nature of my blogs will change. 

The cancer that I endured and overcame has been a blessing in many ways. It has provided me an opportunity to delve deeper into a spiritual world I never fathomed before. It has opened up a door into the world of Reiki (a form of energy healing), allowing me to share Reiki with others. It has allowed me to appreciate every moment and share that appreciation with others who are fighting their battles in the dark. 

Thus, my blogs will no longer document how to endure cancer, but how to live a wholesome healing life. It will encompass current moments, life experiences, and inspirational tid-bits that will help you reshape your perspectives. 

That being said, let me paint the picture of the current moment and a part of me that I haven’t thoroughly revealed.  I am first and foremost an educator. It is my first love and a calling I hold dear. I woke this morning with following words pouring forth and knew what today would bring, that I would resolve to continue sharing, that I would write and document, that I would stand as a witness and continue to share love and light. 

Here’s a sneak peak into one teacher’s soul and maybe, just maybe… it will help you understand where others are coming from: 

I have counseled suicidal students. 

I have sat with one during his dad’s funeral 

            And with other students at a fellow student’s funeral. 

I have sat with families in hospitals while doctors removed tumors from a ten-year-old. 

I have fed families Thanksgiving meals, clothed homeless families alongside a passionate     

           world changing teen. 

I have guided families through hard Christmases providing a means to put smiles on kid’s 

           faces.

I have taught, empowered, loved, and molded. 

On a human level, no amount of money could or would cover all that I do. 

I don’t do it for money, for death taught me that we die penniless and cross over barren. 

I do it because I want my broad to share their love in turn with the world. 

I will strike tomorrow because shaping student’s voices, minds, and hearts matter! 

Los Angeles Unified School District teachers will be striking tomorrow. I will stand beside them. I will stand beside them because changing lives and creating amazing human beings cannot happen in a huge setting. Thirty-nine students in one class is a recipe for failure. This is the third time in all of UTLA’s existence that teachers have walked out of the classroom. I was ten when the second strike happened. My teacher walked out, she fought for the arts, she fought for all the electives and activities that help children feel as though they have a voice. She fought so that I could become a writer. 

Are they striking for money? (Of course, lots of it, some to support their own families via cost of living raises)

Are they striking for students? (Most definitely, children deserve lower class sizes) 

Are they striking for Public Education? (Yes! Education is a privilege. Education is not always free and not always equitably provided. At the age of 15 Malala was shot in the head for demanding education for girls and continues to be a voice of educational progress). 

There is so much at stake here, so much that isn’t being portrayed, varying perspectives, and diverse reasons. So, I urge you to view the moment from all perspectives, compassionately, and ask yourself, what do you believe is worth fighting for? 

Till next time, go live, thrive, have fun, and do great things! 

Please feel free to share this blog as you see fit. If you would like me to add you to my blog list, please shoot me an e-mail: (marineyanikiansutton@gmail.com) Also, if you would like to touch base, share some Reiki, or talk, I am here. E-mail away.  I will most definitely write again and respond quickly-that, I promise.